B    3    3M2 


TODAY   AND    TOMORROW 


CHARLES  HANSON  TOWNE 


Today 

and 

Tomorrow 

By 

Charles  Hanson  Towne 


New  York 
George  H.  Doran  Company 


Copyright,   1916, 
By  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


To  MY  FRIEND 

MRS.  FREDERIC  J.  FAULKS 

(Theodosia  Garrison) 


371655 


For  the  privilege  of  reprinting  the  poems  included  in 
this  volume,  the  author  thanks  the  editors  of  McClure's, 
Harper's  Magazine,  The  Century,  Everybody's,  The  North 
American  Review,  Munsey's,  The  Smart  Set,  The  Book 
man,  Collier's,  Lippincott's,  Puck,  Harper's  Weekly, 
Poetry,  The  Designer,  The  Craftsman,  The  New  York 
Sun,  The  New  York  Tribune,  and  the  Youth's  Companion. 


CONTENTS 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Beauty 13 

War  Tidings 20 

To  My  Country 22 

To  William  Watson 23 

On  the  Sinking  of  the  Lusitania  ....  25 

The  Little  People .  27 

The  Shot 30 

Silence 32 

After  Hearing  Tschaikowsky 33 

The  Parting  of  the  Ways  ......  36 

A  Ballad  of  Love  in  London 38 

Baboon 41 

A  Woman  of  the  Streets  .      .      ,      «     .      *  44 

City  Roofs .      .  46 

The  Little  Street  Where  She  Died  .     .     .  48 

Vision ..•«-.  50 

The  Children  in  the  Corridors      .      .     .     '.  53 

Mysteries .  57 

After 58 

Risen  Indeed! 59 

Spring  Nights 60 

The  Lover 61 

At  a  The  Dansant 62 

In  an  Old  Cafe 64 

Supreme  Moments  .            65 

[ix] 


CO  NTENTS 


Page 

Love  Can  Die 66 

On  First  Looking  into  the  Manuscript  of 

Endymion 67 

In  a  Picture-Gallery 69 

Assunta    .     .......      .      .      .  71 

Love's  Silences  .      .....      .     » -    .      .  74 

Old  Johnny  Valentine  .     .     .      .     .      .      .  76 

The  Quarrel       .     .     .     ...     .     .     .  79 

Art      .      .      .      .........      .      .81 

The  Quiet  Years      .      .      .....     .     .  82 

To  a  Certain  Little  Boy  .      .,,,.,.     .  83 

A  Song  While  Loving       ......  84 

One  of  the  Predestined 86 

Take  Thou  the  Rose 87 

Retreat 88 

The  Prison .     .  90 

Racing  with  the  Rain .  91 

The  Victors .      .  96 


[x] 


TODAY      AND     TOMORROW 


TODAY    AND    TQMQRKOtW 


w 


BEAUTY 

(For  Nellie  Flagg) 


HEN  I  am  dead,  and  hidden  in  the  ground, 

I  know  that  after  lonely  days  of  sleep 
I  shall  grow  weary  of  my  dreamless  ease, 
And  stir  the  grass  above  me;  long  to  lift 
My  narrow  roof  sealed  with  white  crocuses, 
And  walk  again  upon  the  lovely  earth. 
I  know  that  I  shall  say  to  the  Lord  God, 
"  Let  me  behold  once  more  the  flowery 

Spring, 
The    jocund    April    running    through    the 

world,"— 

(For  it  will  be  in  April  when  I  rouse 
With  all  reviving  things  that  softly  stir), 
"  Before  I  venture  to  the  gates  of  heaven. 
I  pine  for  unforgotten  loveliness, 
I  sicken  for  the  beauty  that  I  knew 
In   youth   and   age.     Let   them   be   mine 

again ! " 

[13] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

BEAUTY  (continued) 

A  ND  then  I  know  that  suddenly  mine  eyes 
Shall  see  the  splendor  of  the  dawn;  shall 

see 
A   halcyon  morning  shine   on  that   same 

shore 
Where  as  a  child  I  watched  the  pomp  of 

day 

March  across  distant  barricades  of  cloud, 
And  storm  the  very  ramparts  of  the  world. 
I  shall  see  hills  emerge  from  the  pale  mist, 
Their  velvet  wonder  crowned  with  caps  of 

snow, 

And  I  shall  marvel  at  them  as  of  old. 
I    shall   see   rivers   winding   through   the 

meads, 

Long  silver  serpents  hunting  for  the  sea; 
And  on  their  banks  the  blue  forget-me-nots, 
Half  hidden  in  the  grass  that  covered  me. 
I  shall  read  glimmering  gospels  in  the 

book 

Of  April;  deathless  legends  in  the  sun; 
Psalms  that  the  golden  season  sings  for 
ever; 

[14] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

BEAUTY  (continued) 

Green  litanies  and  strangely  visible  prayers 
Writ  and  embroidered  on  the  cloth  of 

Spring. 

O,  once  again  the  antique  page  shall  open, 
The  missal  crowded  with  a  curious  scroll, 
A  new  enchantment  wrought  of  the  old 

flowers. 

And  I  shall  praise  again  the  miracle 
Of  beauty  —  beauty  far  too  great  to  bear. 


T 


II 

HE  face  of  the  Beloved,  who  forgets? 

It  grows  in  splendor  and  light  when  we 

are  gone; 

Absent,  its  worth  increases.     Even  so 
The  earth  takes  on  new  wonder  when  we 

die, 

And  we  remember  special  sanctities, 
Subtle  delights  that,  living,  we  forgot :  — 
Color,  and  tone,  and  mood;  some  excel 
lence 

Of  almost  unperceived  contour ;  some 
Elusive  loveliness,  still  lovelier 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

BEAUTY  (continued) 

Because  it  is,  yet  is  not;  something  lost 
Between  high  rapture  and  Love's  deep  de 
spair. 

O  golden  sunset,  gone  ere  we  can  say 
To  the  friend  near  us,  "  See  that  fringe  of 

cloud, 

Those  galleons  of  glory  in  the  West, 
The  furnace  fires  that  burn  the  world's  far 

rim!" 
He   turns,   astonished,   and   the   dream  is 

gone, 

And  nevermore  appears  to  him  or  me 
With  just  that  flush  of  wonder,  just  that 

form 
Of  dappled  cloud. 

So  I  have  seen  a  road 
In  the  lush  Summer,  heavy  with  the  heat, 
Shadowed  by  boughs  that  wilted  in  the  sun, 
Beyond  all  naming  beautiful  in  the  way 
It  coiled  and  twisted  through  the  country 
side. 

One  instant  —  and  the  shadows  changed; 
a  bird, 

[16] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

BEAUTY  (continued) 

And  then  another,  bathed  in  swirls  of  dust ; 
A  wagon  rolled  in  sight;  and  as  I  moved 
I  lost  the  moment's  rapture. 

Nothing  remains 

Ever  the  same.     The  trees  are  laced  to 
night 

Against  the  sky;  tomorrow  they  will  be 
Eager  with  one  more  leaf,  and  the  young 

moon, 

A  few  hours  older,  will  be  climbing  through 
The  filmy  texture  in  another  light, 
And  tufted  smoke  will  be  the  border  when 
I  look  once  more  upon  the  pale  design. 
Nothing  is  quite  the  same.     Therefore  I 

know 

My  brief  delay  upon  the  beautiful  earth 
Is  not  enough.     Haunted  with  loveliness, 
How  can  I  fare  away  to  other  heavens, 
Missing  innumerable  heavens  here? 
For   April   is   the   same  —  yet   never   the 

same; 
And  Autumn  never  painted  two  gold  leaves 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

BEAUTY  (continued) 

The  eye  could  match.     White  hills  against 

the  sky 
Repeat  their  wonder  through  the  Winter 

days, 
And  yet  the  clouds  behind  them  lift  and 

break 

Till  the  heart  marvels  at  the  shifting  moods 
Of  cold  magnificence  and  dignity. 
Ah!  we  could  watch  forever  the  phantom 

rain, 

And  never  see  the  ghostly  army  come 
With  the  same  shining  helmets  on  their 

heads. 
New  songs  would  be  in  the  wind  though 

the  wind  sang 

Forever;  and  new  anthems  in  the  sea, 
New  gestures  in  the  waves,  and  various 

glints 
Upon   the   tumbled   wheat.     There   is   no 

hour 
When  the  old  wonder  is  not  strangely  new. 


[18] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

BEAUTY  (continued) 

III 

HEREFORE  I  know,  when  I  have  fallen 

asleep, 

I  shall  awaken,  hungry  for  the  lost 
Intangible  beauty  of  the  glowing  earth. 
And   God   will   give   me   back   the    Spring 

again, 
That    I    may   read   new   meanings   in   the 

flowers, 

Evoke  new  glory  from  the  sudden  leaf, 
And  haunt  the  heart  of  April  for  my  joy. 
I  know  that  I  have  only  tasted  Life, 
And  Life  is  Beauty  —  Beauty  too  great  to 

bear 
In  one  brief  pilgrimage  upon  the  earth. 


[19] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


i 


i 


i 


WAR  TIDINGS 

(1914) 

N  a  still,  curtained  room  there  came  to  me 

Rumors  of  strife;  tidings  from  oversea 
Of  conflict ;  the  swift,  flashing  word  that  Peace 
had  ceased  to  be. 

N  a  safe  city,  where  the  steady  roar 

Of  traffic  thundered,  came  a  voice  that  bore 
News  unbelievable  of  the  wild  hosts  of  War. 

N  a  still  room !     In  a  safe  city !  —  here 

Only  the  echo  comes,  but  strangely  clear. 
What  of  the  actual  horror,  what  of  the  actual 
tear! 

J1OR  in  my  shelter  I  shuddered  when  I  knew 
That  men  accomplished  desperate  deeds  and 

slew 

Their  brothers  on  the  battleground.     Such 
things  men  dare  to  do! 

[20] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


WAR  TIDINGS  (continued) 

T  THOUGHT  of  wasted  harvests  of  gold  grain, 
-*•     Lost  fields  of  plenty,  drenched  in  the  soft 

rain  — 

And  I  thought  of  a  reaped  harvest  of  unutter 
able  pain. 

T  THOUGHT    of   the    loud    clashing   of   the 

sword, 

The  sound  of  guns  and  cannon  in  accord; 
I  thought  of  a  king  and  his  inexorable  word. 

TN  a  still  room,  "  It  cannot  be!  "  I  said. 
*     "I  will  awaken  and  the  dream  be  fled." 
(But  I  heard  the  weeping  of  widows  over  the 
lonely  dead.) 

npHOUGH  I  was  far  away  and  safe  and  still, 
The  distant  sabres  stabbed  me.     "Thus 

men  kill," 

I  said.     "  The  smoke  of  battle  hides  a  cross 
upon  a  hill !  " 


[21] 


o 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


TO  MY  COUNTRY 

(1914) 

NE  told  me  he  had  heard  it  whispered: 

"Lo! 

The  hour  has  come  when  Europe,  des 
perate 

With  sudden  war  and  terrible  swift  hate, 

Rocks  like  a  reed  beneath  the  mighty  blow. 

Therefore  shall  we,  in  this,  her  time  of  woe, 

Profit  and  prosper,  since  her  ships  of  state 

Go  down  in  darkness.     Kind,  thrice  kind 

is  Fate, 

Leaving    our    land    secure,    our    grain    to 
grow ! " 


A  MERIC A !     They  blaspheme  and  they  lie 
-***    Who  say  these  are  the  voices  of  your  sons ! 
In  this  foul  night  when  nations  sink  and  die, 
No  thought  is  here  save  for  the  fallen  ones 
Who,  underneath  the  ruin  of  old  thrones 
Suffer  and  bleed,  and  tell  the  world  good 
bye! 

[22] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


TO  WILLIAM  WATSON 

In  Answer  to  His  Sonnet,  "  To  America,  Concern 
ing  England  " 


lOET!     In  England's  hour  of  pain  and  stress, 
When  her  white  face  was  stricken  with 

dumb  despair, 
We,   knowing  the   red   burden  she   must 

bear, 

Wept  as  an  orphan  weeps.     Yea,  and  no  less 
We  wept  for  flowery  France  in  her  duress, 
And  for  brave  Belgium  weighed  with  tears 

and  care; 
All  lands  in  strife  cried  out  for  pity  and 

prayer  — 
The  worthy  sunk  in  war's  unworthiness. 

is  no  time  for  venom  or  for  blame ! — 
Our  peace  is  the  white  remnant  left  of 

God, 
And  when  the  shattered  nations  need  a  rod 

[23] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

TO  WILLIAM  WATSON  (continued) 

To  lift  them  from  the  ashes  of  the  flame, 
Our  strength  preserved  shall  quicken  them. 

No  shame 
Shall  be  upon  us  for  the  path  we  trod ! 


[24] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


T 


O 


ON  THE  SINKING  OF  THE 
LUSITANIA 

1915 

HERE  is  a  mad  hound  in  the  world  today, 

A  hideous  Thing  that  snarls  and  breathes 
its  breath 

Of  poison,  frenzy,  agony  and  death; 
A  beast,  a  monster  that  no  hand  can  stay 
In  the  old  patient,  everlasting  way. 

Now  must  the  whole  earth,  sick  with  sor 
row,  dumb 

With  new  despair,  crush  this  delirium, 
This  foul  Thing  of  destruction  and  dismay. 

THOU  my  country,  be  not  slow  to  smite 
This  red  abomination  of  the  world. 
In  righteous  wrath  let  banners  be  un 
furled 

Proclaiming  thy  proud  purpose,  thy  stern 
might. 

[25] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

ON  SINKING  OF  THE  LUSITANIA  (contd.) 

Take  heed,  America!  Thy  breast  is 
torn; 

Speak  now  in  thunder  for  the  race  un 
born. 


[26] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


THE  LITTLE  PEOPLE 

1914 
(For  Edna  Aug) 

'  I  VHE  little,  simple  people  are  they  who  shall 
go  down, 

Not  Kings  and  Kaisers,  Emperors,  and  un 
availing  Czars; 

The  good,  God-fearing  people  who  never  saw 
a  crown  — 

'Tis  they  who  know  the  power  of  guns  and 
feel  the  curse  of  Mars. 

TT  is  the  little  people  who  must  suffer  and  must 
*         weep, 

They  who  do  the  wise  things,  the   good 

things  of  the  earth; 
They  who  till  the  farmlands,  they  who  softly 

reap 

The  grain  and  the  harvest,  and  build  fires 
upon  the  hearth. 


[27] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

THE  LITTLE  PEOPLE  (continued) 

'TpHE  good  folk,  the  kind  folk  —  'tis  they  who 

run  toward  Hell 
When  Kaiser  and  Emperor  dare  to  urge 

them  forth  ; 
Forgotten  are  the  homely  ways  when  sounds 

the  war  god's  bell  — 
From  East  and  West  they  gather,  from  still 

vineyards  of  the  North. 

T^ROM   orange-groves  and  wheat-fields,  bar 

ley-brake  and  plain, 
From  business  in  the  quiet  towns,  the  sane 

work  of  the  world, 
They  rush  at  the  mad  call,  and  face  the  sting 

ing  rain 

Of  shot  and  shell  and  cannon  —  for  the 
King's  flag  is  unfurled! 


little,  simple  people  now  run  a  race  with 
Death, 

They  who  ran  wise  errands  for  the  rulers 
of  the  earth; 


[28] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

THE  LITTLE  PEOPLE  (continued) 

They  give  their  all,  who  built  the  world,  they 

give  their  blood,  their  breath, 
And  who  shall  blow  to  life  again  the  fires 
upon  the  hearth? 


UNREGARDFUL  Kings,  and  ye  who  hold 

high  destinies, 
Within    your    misnamed    mighty    hands, 

how  dare  ye  face  your  God 
When  ye  have  thrown  your  simple  people, 

people  such  as  these, 

The  good  folk,  the  little  folk,  face  down 
ward  on  the  sod? 


they  are  worth  more  than  your  crowns, 
more  than  ye  know; 

They  are  the  wise  ones,  and  ye  the  fool 
ish.  .  .  .  Stay! 
Keep  them  and  protect  them,  before  your 

light  burns  low, 

And  the  Lord  God  rebukes  you  on  His 
awful  Judgment  Day! 

[29] 


TODAY     AND    TOMORROW 


THE  SHOT 
(1915)       » 

T  TE  fired  a  million  guns  —  and  then  ten  million 
-••  •*•        more; 

But  we,  on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  heard 
only  the  echoes  of  War. 

"LJ  E  fired  a  billion  guns ;  but  faintly,  faintly  we 

heard; 

We  thought  of  the  fallen  legions,  and  our 
hearts  were  torn  and  stirred. 

TDUT  once,  in  the  dead  of  night,  in  a  lonely 

prison,  hark! 

He  fired  a  shot  that  rang,  rang  through  the 
terrible  dark  — 

T>  ANG  through  the  whole  wide  world,  like  a 

bell  of  doom  and  death; 
But  it  brought  new  life  to  a  nation,  though 
it  hushed  one  woman's  breath. 

[30] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

THE  SHOT  (continued) 

shot  out  of  all  of  those  that  have  made 
the  world  a  place 
Of   terror   and   of   tears !  —  one   shot,   and 
God's  disgrace 

TS  branded  deep  on  his  brow,  and  deep  on  his 
•*•        land  as  well; 

But  deep  in  the  heart  of  the  world  is  branded 
one  name  — "  Cavell!  " 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


SILENCE 

(For  Ada  Street) 

T  NEED  not  shout  my  faith.     Thrice  eloquent 

Are  quiet  trees  and  the  green  listening  sod. 

Hushed  are  the  stars,  whose  power  is  never 

spent; 

The  hills  are  mute  —  yet  how  they  speak 
of  God! 

Norfolk,  Connecticut. 


[32] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


AFTER  HEARING  TSCHAIKOWSKY 


w 


D 


HAT  is  the  meaning  of  such  beauty  pro 
found? 

Ladders  of  utterance  that  lead  the  heart  to 
heaven, 

All  senses  driven 

Up  the  high  stairway  to  God's  echoing  halls, 

Where  angels  ever  keep  Song's  festivals. 

Up,  up,  our  souls  are  whirled  — 

Then  back  again  to  the  old  groaning  world. 

O  rain  of  music  suddenly  that  falls, 

O  thrilling  storm  of  sound, 

Now  all  our  griefs  are  drowned 

In  the  wild  flood  that  flows 

From  the  great  heart  of  Melody  where  the 
Lord's  trumpet  blows ! 

EEDS  we  might  do, 

Imperishable  deeds  of  excellence, 
If  we  were  drenched  forever  in  such  sound. 
Here  are  Life's  wounds  immense 

[33] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

HEARING  TSCHAIKOWSKY  (continued) 

That  we  might  help  to  heal  —  great  wounds 

unbound, 

And  bleeding  over  the  ground. 
And  the  loud  chords  but  break  our  heart 

with  pity, 

And  bid  us  bleed  with  anguish  for  the  pain 
That  lives  in  every  lane 
In  every  thundering  city. 

XI7ARS  we  might  quell, 

Lift  beggars  out  of  hell, 
Fling  back  to  God  the  souls  to  Him  now 

lost, 
If  on  these  billows  of  beauty  we  might  be 

tossed 

In  hours  now  level  with  ease 
And  pale  with  dalliance  too. 
We  might  be  captains  in  a  world  forlorn, 
Not  cowards  whose  days  are  torn 
With  craven  fear,  if  on  such  sounds  as  these 
Our  poor  crushed  spirits  could  climb  back 

again 
To  mercy,  and  to  goodness,  and  to  men. 

[34] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

HEARING  TSCHAIKOWSKY  (continued) 

TLJIGH  dreams!  .  .  .  And  now  the  harmony 
is  stilled.  .  .  . 

What  is  it  that  within  me  has  been 
killed?  .  .  . 

If  it  should  be  all  bitterness, 

How  I  should  bless 

This  ocean,  this  immortal  sea  of  sound, 

That  healed  me  in  its  waves  and  tides  pro 
found  ! 


[35] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


THE  PARTING  OF  THE  WAYS 


T 


T 


H 


HIS  is  the  sum  of  my  distress  — 

Not  that  I  need  you  more,  but  that  I  need 

you  less ; 
That   I   can  walk  the  ways  of  earth  with 

strange  forgetfulness. 


HIS  is  the  bitterness  I  know  — 

That  a  deep  love  like  ours  so  suddenly 

should  go, 
Lost,  like  a  fragile  flower,  under  the  snow. 


OW  did  it  die?     How  did  it  fall? 

How  did  this  wild  disaster  follow  Love's 

carnival? 

Is  Love  to  last  for  an  hour?     Is  that  to  be 
all? 

[36] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

THE  PARTING  OF  THE  WAYS  (continued) 

'  I  *  O  have  such  need  —  and  then  have  none ! 

To  have  known  such  rapture  out  in  Hie 

fiery  sun, 

And  then  to  say  ID  each  other,  "  It  is  over, 
and  done!" 


T  TOW  can  we  know  it  was  Love? 

How  can  we  know  we  tasted  the  sweets 
thereof? 

Yet  one  of  us  was  worthy!     Which  of  us? 
Time  will  prove! 


will  prove!     For  the  years  will  show 
Which  of  us  suffered,  and  lost — nay,  won 

— and  withstood  the  blow.  .  .  . 
It  cannot  be  you;  and  if  it  be  I,  you  will 

never  know! 


[37] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


A  BALLAD  OF  LOVE  IN  LONDON 


T  HAD  heard  of  the  grey  of  London,  the  fogs 

like  a  heavy  shroud 
That  covered  the  ancient  city  and  wrapped  it 

in  a  cloud; 
And  I  had  read  in  many  a  book  and  heard  from 

many  a  tongue 
Of  the  long  relentless  London  rain,  whose  song 

is  never  sung  — 

Grey  days,  sad  days,  days  of  dread  and  gloom, 
And  nights  of  dark  foreboding  like  the  silent 
tomb. 

II 

OUT  when  I  went  to  London,  where  soon  or 

late  one  goes, 

I  met  an  English  maiden,  with  a  face  like  an 
English  rose; 

[38] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

A  BALLAD  OF  LOVE  (continued) 

Her  eyes  were  a  bit  of  heaven,  her  hair  was  a 

golden  cloud  — 
And  little  I  knew  of  the  long,  long  rain,  or 

the  fogs  like  a  heavy  shroud ! 

In  candlelight  and  firelight,  beyond  Trafalgar 

Square, 
O  London  was  a  bright  town,  London  was  fair! 

Ill 

1"  HAD  heard  of  the  dripping  eaves  on  lonely 

Winter  nights, 
The  mist  that  covered  the  Thames  at  dusk, 

and  the  half-extinguished  lights; 
The  loneliness  in  the  heart  of  the  world,  the 

desolation  there  — 
But  I  found  all  joy,  all  love,  all  life,  beyond 

Trafalgar  Square! 

Sad  town,  mad  town,  town  of  tears  and  shame, 
But  O,  to  me  a  glad  town  —  and  blessed  be  her 
name! 


[39] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

A  BALLAD  OF  LOVE  (continued) 

IV 

T    HAD    dreamed   of   dimness,   and   darkness 

everywhere ; 
For  folk  had  said  that  London  was  anything 

but  fair; 
And  yet  upon  her  withered  cheek  I  spied  a 

rose's  red, 
And  in  her  eyes  a  glory,  and  a  crown  upon  her 

head! 

With  lovelight  and  firelight  and  candlelight,  how 

fair 
Was  wonderful  old  London  beyond  Trafalgar 

Square! 


[40] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


BABOON 

T  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
And  at  two  in  the  afternoon 

The  monster  curtains  open, 
The  fiddles  creak  and  croon; 

And  then  I  bow  to  the  people  — 
A  lumbering  baboon. 

J  WONDER  why  I  do  it? 

Why  do  the  humans  stare 
From  even  rows  of  shadow 

Behind  the  footlights'  glare? 
Why  do  I  go  through  my  weary  tricks 

On  a  table  and  a  chair? 


laugh  and  clap  and  giggle, 
They  never  seem  to  tire, 

For  I  am  quite  amusing 
As  I  dance  upon  a  wire, 

Or  leap,  at  my  master's  signal, 
Through  golden  hoops  of  fire. 

[41] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

BABOON  (continued) 

T  CANNOT  smile,  like  the  people, 

I  cannot  speak  at  all; 
I  pirouette  insanely 

In  the  foolish  carnival; 
Yet  could  I  laugh,  O,  I  would  laugh 

When  the  velvet  curtains  fall ! 


I  wonder  why  those  people 

Sit  in  such  even  rows, 
And  smile  at  my  useless  knowledge, 

Laugh  at  my  mincing  toes, 
And  dream  that  they  have  wisdom !  — 

How  little  a  human  knows ! 


A  ND  why  do  they  always  gather 

In  houses  bright  and  hot, 
When  they  might  be  out  in  the  open 

In  a  place  I've  never  forgot? 
Why  do  they  hive  in  a  shell  like  this, 

And  bid  me  share  their  lot? 


[42] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

BABOON  (continued) 

A  ND  why  is  my  life  a  schedule, 

Run  by  rote  and  rule? 
I  was  not  meant  for  theatres, 

I  was  not  made  for  school ; 
I  was  not  meant  to  caper  here, 

A  thing  of  ridicule ! 


I 


WAS  not  meant  to  be  the  slave 
Of  a  man  in  a  shiny  suit, 

To  bring  the  golden  dollars  in, 
To  stand  up  and  salute ; 

The  good  God  put  me  in  the  world 
To  be  a  happy  brute ! 


"DUT  at  eight  o'clock  each  evening, 
And  at  two  in  the  afternoon 

The  monster  curtains  open, 
The  fiddles  creak  and  croon ; 

And  I  bow  to  the  senseless  people 
A  sensible  baboon! 


[43] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


A  WOMAN  OF  THE  STREETS 

T  WISH  I  had  not  seen  them  — 

•*•       Peach  bloom,  pear  bloom  and  apple  blossom 

white, 

Swaying  in  the  wind  like  candles  in  the  night. 
I  wish  I  had  not  seen  them  hanging  on  the 

bough  — 
For  I  am  in  my  city  chains,  city  weary  now. 


I  WISH  I  had  not  seen  them  — 

Long,  long  lanes,  and  hawthorn  rows  of 

glory, 
Bright-bannered  mornings  with  the  good  God's 

ancient  story 

Writ  in  red  embroidery  on  the  far,  high  hills  — 
I  wish  I  had  not  seen  them,  for  now  their  mem 
ory  kills. 


[44] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

A  WOMAN  OF  THE  STREETS  (continued) 

T  WISH  I  had  not  seen  them  — 

The  ranks  of  scarlet  poppies  dancing  in  the 

corn 
When  the  world  lay  easy  on  the  heart  of  the 

morn; 
And    the    shining   battalions    of    the    surging 

rain  — 

I  wish  I  had  not  seen  them,  for  they  bring  me 
pain. 


'  I  SHE  hard,  grim  stones  in  the  grey  old  town, 
The  dull  days,  the  sad  days,  they  weigh  me 

down. 
But  heavier  is  my  soul  for  the  lost  things 

good  and  sweet  — 

Oh,  I  wish  I  could  not  see  them  when  I  walk 
the  iron  street ! 


[45] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


CITY  ROOFS 

(From  the  Metropolitan  Tower) 

"O  OOF-TOPS,  roof-tops,  what  do  you  cover? 
Sad  folk,  bad  folk,  and  many  a  glowing 

lover; 

Wise  people,  simple  people,  children  of  de 
spair  — 
Roof-tops,  roof-tops,  hiding  pain  and  care. 

O  OOF-TOPS,  roof-tops,  O  what  sin  you're 

knowing, 
While  above  you  in  the  sky  the  white  clouds 

are  blowing; 
While  beneath  you,  agony  and  dolor  and 

grim  strife 
Fight  the  olden  battle,  the  olden  war  of  Life. 

T>  OOF-TOPS,     roof-tops,     cover     up     their 

shame  — 

Wretched  souls,  prisoned  souls  too  piteous  to 
name; 

[46] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

CITY  ROOFS  (continued) 

Man  himself  hath  built  you  all  to  hide  away 

the  stars  — 
Roof-tops,  roof-tops,  you  hide  ten  million 

scars. 

O  OOF-TOPS,    roof-tops,    well    I   know   you 

cover 
Many  solemn  tragedies,  and  many  a  lonely 

lover; 
But  ah!  you  hide  the  good  that  lives  in  the 

throbbing  city  — 
Patient  wives,  and  tenderness,  forgiveness, 

faith,  and  pity. 

T>  OOF-TOPS,  roof-tops,  this  is  what  I  won- 
*^        der: 

You  are  thick  as  poisonous  plants,  thick  the 

people  under; 
Yet  roofless,  and  homeless,  and  shelterless 

they  roam, 

The  driftwood  of  the  town  who  have  no  roof 
top,  and  no  home ! 


[47] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


THE  LITTLE  STREET  WHERE  SHE 
DIED 


WENT  to  the  little  street, 

The  little  street  where  she  died, 
And  it  seemed  to  me  as  I  turned  the  Square 

That  the  very  pavements  sighed. 

And  the  blinds  stared,  vacant-eyed, 
When  I  went  to  the  little  street, 

The  little  street  where  she  died. 


i 


THOUGHT  of  the  days  when  she  leaned 

Out  of  the  casement  there, 
And  always  watched  for  me 

As  I  turned  from  the  quiet  Square; 

And  the  nights  when  I  watched  for  the  flare 
Of  her  lamp  at  the  window-pane  — 

A  beacon  through  the  rain.  .  .  . 


[48] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


STREET  WHERE  SHE  DIED  (cont.) 

T   AST  night  I  went  to  the  street, 

The  little  street  where  she  died, 
But  I  could  not  see,  for  my  tears, 

The  house  of  love  denied. 

The  winds,  like  spirits,  sighed.  .  .  . 
Then  a  star  in  heaven  flashed 

Over  the  street  where  she  died. 


[49] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


VISION 

COMETIMES,  in  a  crowded  street  I  see 

The  faces  of  those  that  love,  and  those  that 

are  loved. 

And  in  the  rush  of  the  traffic, 
The  thundering  sounds  of  the  city,  I  pause, 
Wondering    about    their    loves  —  which    are 
their  lives. 


¥   KNOW  them  by  their  eyes,  and  by  their 

glances ; 

I  know  them  in  a  way  I  may  not  name, 
And  I  know  those  that  have  won  and  those 

that  have  lost 

In  the  eternal  battle  of  the  world. 
But  they  that  have  lost  have  not  always  a  sad 

countenance ; 

Sometimes  their  lips  smile, 
As  if  with  an  old  comprehension, 

[so] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

VISION  (continued) 

And  one  might  be  deceived,  save  for  the  tragic 
eyes  — 

The  smiling,  yet  unsmiling  eyes  above  the 
mouth. 

Those  eyes  have  read  in  the  great  Book  of 
Love, 

And  they  are  changed,  they  are  changed 
forever. 

And  those  lips  have  kissed  the  pages  of  the 
book, 

And  they  too  are  changed  forever. 

Only,  lips  can  lie  —  but  eyes  can  never  de 
ceive. 


ND  those  that  have  won  —  not  always  do 

they  smile. 
Often  they  seem  to  be  secretly  weeping, 
As  if  with  a  joy  too  terrible  to  bear.  .  .  . 
Strange,   strange   are   the   countenances   of 

those  that  love. 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


VISION  (continued) 

T   KNOW  them  all  — brothers  and  sisters  of 
•*•         Love. 

I  know  them,  and  they  know  me  too. 

I  can  tell  by  their  eyes  — 

Their  eyes  that  follow  me  with  knowledge, 

With  pity,  with  solemn  understanding. 


[52] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


THE  CHILDREN  IN  THE 
CORRIDORS 

T  HAVE  seen  children  playing  in  the  corridors 
of  great  hotels  — 

Pathetic,  lonely  little  creatures, 

Surrounded  by  rich  velvet  curtains  and  disin 
terested  nurses, 

Trying  to  play  hide-and-seek  quietly  in  the 
hushed  hallways, 

Behind  shining  pillars,  as  country  children  play 
behind  trees; 

Or  teasing  the  bell-boys,  for  lack  of  other 
companionship, 

As  the  bell-boys  hurry  about  their  duties. 

'TSHESE  are  the  children  that  seldom  see  their 
•*•          parents ; 

They  are,  sadly  enough,  the  product  of  acci 
dent, 
And  their  parents  are  indifferent  to  them. 

[53] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

CHILDREN  IN  THE  CORRIDORS  (cont.) 

They  are  tragic  little  beings; 

I  am  sorry  for  them  with  as  much  pity 

As  one  can  retain  who  lives  forever  in  a 

crowded  metropolis. 
In  the  afternoons  I  have  seen  their  nurses 

take  them 

Out  of  the  silent  corridors  of  the  big  hotels 
Into  the  noisy  stone  corridors  of  the  streets, 
And  parade  them  solemnly  up  and  down,  up 

and  down, 
As  if  they  were  mere  wooden  images  instead 

of  human  beings. 
And  always  the  wise  little  children's  eyes 

follow  other  little  children 
Who  are  in  a  like  predicament, 
As  if  to  say,  if  they  could,  "  We  are  all  one 

Masonic  breed, 
And  we  understand  one  another." 


T 


HEY  are  led  to  the  broader  corridor  of  the 

Avenue, 
And  toward  the  Park,  with  its  pitiful  spaces 

of  green, 

[54] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

CHILDREN  IN  THE  CORRIDORS  (cont.) 

Its  gravel  walks,  and  its  inhospitable  signs 

That  warn  them  from  the  grass.  They  are 
always  surrounded  by  walls ; 

There  is  never  any  real  freedom,  even  in  the 
Park, 

And  the  grey,  great  buildings,  the  immacu 
late  hotels, 

Are  visible  in  the  near  distance,  and  seem  to 
say, 

"  You  cannot  escape  us !  Our  windows  are 
eyes  that  watch  you, 

And  we  shall  call  you  back  soon." 

*HESE  children  have  never  learned  to  play; 
They  have  never  learned  the  wonder  of 
real  companionship 

With  some  one  who  loves  them.  I  pity  them 
more  than  I  pity 

The  children  of  poorer  people,  for  the  chil 
dren  of  poorer  people  are  loved, 

And  these  are  cast  out  because  they  are  in 
the  way, 

And  given  into  the  keeping  of  paid  servants 

[55] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

CHILDREN  IN  THE  CORRIDORS  (cont.) 

Who  slight  them  or  secretly  frighten  them. 
They  live  forever  in  a  state  of  semi-neglect, 
And  they  will  grow  up  —  God  pity  them !  — 
Selfish,  inconsequential  men  and  women ; 
For  their  characters  are  formed  in  corridors, 
And  corridors  are  narrow,  dim  places. 


[56] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


MYSTERIES 

T    IFE  holds  unmeasured  sanctities, 

Immortal  glories  —  sun,  and  moon, 
The  quiet  stars,  the  western  skies, 
And  the  deep  wonder  of  ripe  June ; 


T 


HE  hills,  the  hosts  of  flowers;  the  mood 
Of  Autumn,  and  the  rippling  rain ; 

Beauty  no  heart  has  understood, 
Passion  that  makes  no  moment  vain. 


i 


T  is  so  strange  —  this  gift  of  breath, 

This  pageant  of  the  earth  and  sea; 
Yet  stranger  far  than  Life  or  Death 
Is  this,  O  Love  —  your  need  of  me. 


[57] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


AFTER 

TARENCHED,  after  rain, 
^*^     The  lilacs  tremble  again 
In  the  cool  wind,  and  pour 
Their  fragrance  round  my  door. 


/CRUSHED,  when  Love  dies, 

Bravely  her  spirit  cries; 
But  through  Life's  empty  room, 
O  the  perfume ! 


[58] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


H 


H 


H 


RISEN  INDEED! 

OW  can  I  doubt  that  He  is  risen  indeed, 
Since  at  the  Spring's  exultant  birth 
Through  His  green  earth 
I  see  the  flowering  of  each  hidden  seed, 
And  feel  again  the  old  immortal  need? 

OW  can  I  doubt,  when  through  white  lanes 
I  pass, 

Seeing  the  ancient  beauty  on  the  boughs 

In  God's  great  house, 
Hearing  the  bells  at  this  Aprilian  Mass, 
Seeing  the  congregation  of  the  grass? 

O W  can  I  doubt  ?    Nay,  let  me  bow  my  head, 
Before  the  wonder  of  the  April  flame, 
In  tears  and  shame, 
Since  for  one  instant  (O  black  moment  of 

dread!) 

I  dared  to  think  that  the  great  Lord  was 
dead! 

[59] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


SPRING  NIGHTS 

OPRING  nights  have  come  again,  with  their 
^         old  pity, 

Spring  nights  of  simple  fragrance,  to  the  sad 
city. 


GEE  how  the  long  lanes  filled  with  blue  lights 
Wake  to  a  strange  rapture  in  the  Spring 
nights ! 


A  LMOST  I  think  I  heard  in  the  hushed  dark, 
Down  yonder  thoroughfare,  close  to  the 
park, 


T7 DICES  of  ghostly  birds,  bright  after  rain, 
Singing  the  city's  soul  clean  of  its  pain. 


CPRING  nights,  glad  Spring  nights,  with  their 

old  pity, 
Ah!  how  we  need  them  here  in  the  sad  city! 

[60] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


w 


THE  LOVER 

OUND    me!     Yea,    break    my    heart,    if, 

breaking  it 
Thou  dost  acquire  mysterious  delight. 
Torture  my  spirit  through  an  aching  night, 
Fill  me  with  pain  and  longing  exquisite, 
If  at  the  last  for  me  thy  lamp  be  lit, 
And  once  again  I  hold  thee  in  my  sight. 
Gladly  I  suffer,  being  Love's  eremite ; 
And  if  I  judged  thee,  lo!  I  would  acquit. 


grief  through  thee  is  dearer  than  the  bliss, 
The  empty  glory  of  acclaiming  men; 
Count  me  thy  vassal,  if  but  once  thy  kiss 
Redeem    thy    wrath ;  —  then    wound    me, 

Love,  again !  — 

For  I  do  dread  no  moment  more  than  this: 
Thy  failure  to  afflict  me.     Love  dies  then! 


[61] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


AT  A  THE  DANSANT 


\T7 


I  saw  them  whirling  and  twirling 
In  the  golden  afternoon; 
When  I  heard  the  loud  band  playing 
Its  reckless,  shameless  tune  ; 

HEN  I  saw  their  painted  faces 

Drifting  wildly  by, 
I  too  forgot  the  glory 

Of  the  wonderful  Spring  sky. 


/^UTSIDE,  the  world  was  singing 
^^^     Its  marvellous  old  song ; 

I  thought  of  scented  woodlands 
Far  from  this  maddened  throng; 


i 


THOUGHT  of  the  great  Silence 
More  eloquent  than  sound, 

Of  the  music  in  the  meadows, 
The  gospel  of  the  ground. 

[62] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

AT  A  THE  DANSANT  (continued) 

ND  I  thought :     How  can  they  dance  here, 

In  the  golden  afternoon, 
When  the  earth  is  wild  with  rapture, 

And  Spring  will  vanish  soon? 


T 


HE  scented  air  —  I  loathed  it, 
As  the  dancers  hurried  by.  .  .  . 

I  looked  through  a  little  window 
At  the  stillness  of  the  sky. 


/TpHEN  suddenly  the  music 

Ended  in  one  loud  flare.  .  .  . 
The  dancers  turned  to  their  goblets 
I  turned  to  drink  God's  air. 


[63] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


o 


IN  AN  OLD  CAFE 


NE  April  evening,  when  the  stars 
Hung  like  pale  moths  within  the  sky, 

We  loitered  in  an  old  cafe, 
And  watched  the  moon  come,  you  and  I. 


T 


HE  people  passed,  as  in  a  dream; 

The  hansoms  lurched  against  the  light ; 
Blue  globes  were  twinkling  up  the  street, 

Heralds  of  the  great  city  night. 


ND  as  the  film  of  Life  rolled  by, 
Beggar  and  prince  before  us  there, 

We  thought  of  all  Life's  ecstasy, 
And  all  its  deep  despair. 

ND  in  our  heaven  we  forgot 

That  we  were  of  the  picture  too ; 

Others,  who  watched  our  joy  that  night, 
Wondered,  and  never  knew. 

[64] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


SUPREME  MOMENTS 

The  highest  moments  are  touched  with  tears 
Through  our  brief  years. 

TT7E  weep  at  birth ; 

We  weep  —  if  it  be  Love  indeed  that 

wakes  — 

When  first  Love  takes 
Our  hearts  and  souls  and  shows  us  a  new 

heaven 

And  a  new  earth. 
We  weep  when  friends  forsake  us;  and  we 

weep 
When  one  beloved  falls  quietly  asleep. 

Lord  God,  let  it  be  given 

That,  when  Death  calls  us  down  the  shadowy 

years, 

For  our  poor  passing  there  may  be  soft  tears; 
Our  going  a  moment  supreme 
To  one  who  hailed  us  in  Life's  mighty  dream. 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


LOVE  CAN  DIE 

T    OVE  can  die  —  Love  can  vanish, 

O  remember  this,  vain  heart. 
Love  that  can  all  sorrow  banish, 
Love,  too,  can  depart. 


H 


OLD  Love  close  —  fold  Love  surely 
In  the  glowing  days  that  fly; 

Bind  him  with  thy  faith  securely, 
Lest  he  weep  —  and  die ! 


[66] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


i 


ON  FIRST  LOOKING  INTO  THE 
MANUSCRIPT  OF  ENDYMION 

(In  Mr.  Morgan's  Library) 

DARED  not  dream  that  this  dream  could 

come  true: 
That  I  was  bending  over  that  yellow  page 
Lit  with  his  words  —  our  boy,  our  poet,  our 

sage  — 
And  that  I  touched  the  parchment,  old  yet 

new, 

Whereon  his  fingers  once  had  been.     I  grew 
Strangely  afraid,  as  if  some  heritage 
Of  wonder  from  a  distant,  holy  age 
Had  suddenly  fallen  on  me,  like  soft  dew. 

;  A    THING  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever.  .  .  ." 

-**        There 

I  read  his  lovely  line,  what  time  I  dipped 
Into  that  hushed  and  haunted  manuscript 

[67] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

MANUSCRIPT  OF  ENDYMION  (continued) 

That  Love  and  Time  have  made  even  love 
lier. 

Oh,  I  could  only  dream;  yea,  dream  and 
weep.  .  .  . 

Was  it  a  vision?  —  Did  I  wake  or  sleep? 


[68] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


IN  A  PICTURE-GALLERY 

(A  Private  View) 

A  RROGANT,  richly  at  ease, 
•**•     And  difficult  to  please, 

I  saw  fine  women  come 
To  gaze  on  dreams  like  these: 


T 


HE  visions  of  his  heart 
That  trembled  to  impart 
Some  fragment  of  his  thought 

Through  the  strange  lips  of  Art. 


i 


N  silk  and  bright  brocade, 

In  green  and  gold  arrayed, 
They  came  to  this  still  room 
To  see  what  he  had  made. 


T 


HEY  loitered  just  a  bit: 

"  Ah !  that  is  exquisite !  — 

That  touch  —  that  flash  —  that  tone 
I'm  crazy  over  it !  " 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


IN  A  PICTURE-GALLERY  (continued) 

VHEY  gossiped,  smiled  and  posed ; 
A  grande  dame  frankly  dozed, 
Woke  with  a  start,  moved  on  — 
And  the  great  portals  closed. 


i 


N  that  hushed  room  were  stored 

High  dreams !  .  .  .  Their  motors  roared 
Without;  yet  once  or  twice  each  Spring 

Well,  one  had  to  be  bored ! 


[70] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


ASSUNTA 

kHE  little  nun,  Assunta, 

When  her  sisters  were  at  prayer, 
Crept  out  one  April  morning 

Upon  the  convent  stair, 
And  listened  to  the  robins 

That  sang  in  God's  sweet  air. 


BLITHE  and  brave  Franciscans!  " 

The  little  sister  said, 
"  I  trembled  when  I  heard  you 

At  daybreak  on  my  bed, 
And  longed  to  sing  my  matins 

With  you,  when  dawn  grew  red. 


4  4TjNRAIL  choristers  from  heaven, 

Is  it  a  sin  for  me 
To  listen  to  your  music, 

Your  holy  ecstasy? 
Or  does  the  good  St.  Francis 

Look  down,  and  smile  to  see? 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

ASSUNTA  (continued) 

44T\>TY  sisters  chant  responses 

In  the  strange  hush  and  gloom; 

But  O,  sometimes  I  sicken 

For  the  green  world's  wide  room, 

Long  for  the  benediction 
Of  bird  and  bee  and  bloom ! 

44TF  it  be  sin,  God  pardon 
A     A  wayward  child.  .  .  .  Yet  sing, 
Higher,  and  even  higher, 

And  let  your  voices  ring, 
Mad  trumpeters  of  April, 
Interpreters  of  Spring."  .  .  . 


T 


HE  little  nun,  Assunta, 
Died  on  an  April  day ; 

The  sisters  knelt  around  her 
In  sombre  black  and  grey, 

Singing  their  Nunc  Dimittis, 
Forgetting  not  to  pray. 

[72] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

ASSUNTA  (continued) 

/^\UTSIDE,  her  friends,  the  robins 
^^^     Sang  for  the  wayward  child ; 
Higher,  and  even  higher, 

Rang  out  their  requiem  wild ; 
And  the  sad  sisters  wondered 
When  the  little  dead  nun  smiled. 


[73] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


LOVE'S  SILENCES 

nr^HERE  are  great  silences  in  a  great  love, 

And  fools  are  they  who  vainly  strive  to 

reach 
Those  shining  shores  beyond  the  verge  of 

speech, 
Where   none   should   fare  —  not   even   the 

white  dove 

That  hides  forever  in  true  lovers'  souls, 
And  blesses  them  with  stillness.     There 

are  deeps 
That  none  should  desecrate ;  jealous,  Love 

keeps 

Sure  watch  when  passion's  ocean  round  her 
rolls. 


HT^HESE  calms  are  Love's  hid  meaning;  they 
•*•  contain 

The  covenant  and  gospel  of  Love's  years, 
The    very   Bread    of   beauty   and    the 
Wine. 

[74] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 

LOVE'S  SILENCES  (continued) 

O  never  dream  to  enter  that  dim  fane, 
Flooded  with  knowledge  and  Love's  aw 
ful  tears, 
But  bow  before  the  hush  that  is  divine. 


[75] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 


M 


O 


OLD  JOHNNY  VALENTINE 
(For  A.  E.  Thomas) 

Y  friend  had  died  —  old  Johnny  Valentine, 
Who  loved  to  laugh,  and  waited  for  my 

jokes 
Each  Summer  when  I  went  to  Gloucester. 

We 

Would  sit  in  his  small  cabin  on  the  coast, 
Watching  the   blue   sea  and   the  blowing 

sails, 

And  in  the  night  the  silver  stars  and  moon. 
Then  I  would  tell  him,  with  our  pipes  and 

ale, 

The  little  jests  he  loved  —  the  city  rhymes 
That   tickled  him   until  he   laughed  —  and 

cried. 

LD  Johnny  died  last  Spring.     It  was  in  May 
When  the  world  woke  with  apple-blossoms 

white, 
And  the  grass  whispered  at  his  cabin  door. 

[76] 


TODAY    AND     TOMORROW 

OLD  JOHNNY  VALENTINE  (continued) 

Of  course  I  went  up  to  his  funeral : 
I  wanted  one  last  glimpse  of  that  good  face, 
Brown,    even    in    death  —  those    weather- 
beaten  cheeks. 

A  ND  after  we  had  laid  him  in  the  ground 

Under  a  tree  that  grew  outside  his  gate, 
I  thought  of  all  his  laughter  meant  to  me  — 
That  choking  laughter,  gay  and  innocent, 
Innocent  as  a  child's.     And  then  I  thought 
Of  the  new  jests  that  he  had  never  heard, 
The  bright  collection  for  the  coming  June, 
The  "  city  harvest,"  as  he  called  them ;  all 
The  limericks  that  grew  along  Broadway. 


H 


E  would  have  loved  them,  was  my  natural 

thought ; 

And  so  I  told  them  to  the  neighborhood  — 
His  cronies  and  companions;  the  small 

crowd 

That  loved  him  almost  as  I  loved  him.  Yes, 
I  dared  to  make  them  laugh,  because  I  knew 
He  would  have  liked  to  know  that  even  now 

[77] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

OLD  JOHNNY  VALENTINE  (continued) 

Humor  and  wit  were  dancing  through  the 

world. 

And  as  I  told  my  jokes,  I  thought  I  heard 
The  apple-blossoms  shake  in  a  light  wind  — 
Or  was  it  Johnny  Valentine  who  laughed? 


[78] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


THE  QUARREL 

TN  a  house  behind  me  in  the  crowded  city 

I  heard  a  man  and  woman  quarreling. 
He  called  her  shocking  names,  and  she  replied 
With  bitter  expletives  that  I  forget. 
I  only  know  I  never  dreamed  such  words 
Could  fall  from  human  lips,  as  high  and  higher 
Their  angry  voices  rose  in  sudden  wrath. 
And  then  I  heard  a  blow  —  a  sounding  fist  — 
And  shuddered  at  the  silence  following, 
A  silence  far  more  terrible  than  the  storm. 
Heads  leaned  from  windows;  all  the  neigh 
borhood 
Wondered,  as  I  had  wondered,  what  it  meant. 


N 


EXT  day  I  saw  the  young  wife  in  the  yard, 
Hanging  out  linen  —  shirts  and  handker 
chiefs, 

And  then  brown  socks  and  heavy  under 
clothes. 

[79] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

THE  QUARREL  (continued) 

Upon  one  cheek  she  bore  a  purple  mark, 
And  I  had  never  thought  to  see  a  face 
So  tragic  in  a  woman  as  young  as  she. 
And  in  a  moment  the  brawny  husband  came 
With  a  white  empty  crib  and  cans  of  paint; 
And  while  the  woman  pinned  the  clothing 

up, 

He  set  to  work  with  brushes  for  an  hour. 
And  every  little  while  she  spoke  to  him: 
"  It's  going  to  look  real  nice,  Sam." 

"  Yes,"  said  he. 
Or,  "  After  that,  suppose  you  fetch  some 

coal  — 
I    think    the    fire    needs    it."     "All    right, 

Kate.  .  .  . 
Let's  have  a  steak  for  supper."     "  Sure  we 

will." 

And  presently,  when  she  was  going  in, 
I  saw  her  put  her  hand  upon  his  shoulder, 
And  he  looked  up  and  smiled. 

I  turned  away, 

And  marveled  at  this  life,  but  most  of  all 
At  love,  and  the  strange  riddle  of  the  world. 

[80] 


TODAY     AND    TOMORROW 


A 


ART 

RT  is  a  flaming  mistress, 
Jealous,  proud  and  elate; 

Deep  in  her  heart  is  heaven, 
Deep  in  her  mind  is  hate. 


N 


EVER,  never  forsake  her! 

The  ways  of  her  love,  who  knows? 
Today,  she  is  thine  forever; 

Tomorrow,  forever  she  goes. 


N 


OT  hers  the  tragic  ending  — 
To  nobler  loves  she  fares, 

Nor  turns  for  a  last  swift  parting, 
Remembers  not,  nor  cares. 


[81] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


THE  QUIET  YEARS 

days  run  by  on  golden  feet, 
The  old  rain  falls,  the  old  wind  blows, 
And  every  June  our  spirits  greet 
Red  repetitions  of  the  rose. 


T 


HE  ancient  trees  —  how  wise  are  they! 

And  tides  and  sunsets,  stars  and  grass; 
Ah !  friends  and  loves  may  pass  away, 

But  these  true  friends,  they  never  pass. 


/T*HEY  come  again ;  they  do  not  fail, 

The  Summer  glory,  Autumn  tears; 
The  punctual  moon,  whose  face  is  pale  — 
How  kind  are  all  the  quiet  years ! 


[82] 


TODAY     AND    TOMORROW 


TO  A  CERTAIN  LITTLE  BOY 

(Alexander  Neil  Smith) 

With  a  Silver  Cup,  on  the  Day  of  His 

Christening 


w 


HEN  you  are  really  quite  grown  up, 

Too  big  to  drain  this  little  cup, 

I  hope  the  gods  are  kind,  my  boy, 

And  fill  Life's  cup  with  magic  joy. 

I  pray  that  from  a  golden  bowl 

You  may  drink  wisdom  for  your  soul, 

And  in  the  chalice  of  the  years 

Find  much  of  peace,  and  less  of  tears ; 

Find  knowledge,  beauty,  faith,  and  love, 

And  every  blessing  from  above; 

But  most  of  all,  in  goodly  share, 

Yourself  pour  Human  Kindness  there. 


[83] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


A  SONG  WHILE  LOVING 

*  I  'HOU  who  hast  been  as  starlight  in  my  dark- 

ness, 

Sun  after  blinding  rain,  peace  after  war; 
Thou   who   hast   been,   through   the   long 

ages, 

All  I  have  waited  for; 
Now,  in  the  noon  of  our  rapture, 
Thee  I  adore. 

/T*HEE  I  adore!     Since  it  is  through  thee  I 

hearken 
To  a  new  song  in  the  winds  that  shake 

the  trees; 
Through  thee  I  speak  a  new  language, 

Suffer  new  ecstasies; 
Yea,  and  through  thee  drain  Life's  golden 

goblet 
Unto  the  lees. 


[84] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


A  SONG  WHILE  LOVING  (continued) 


is  the  sum  of  my  joy:  that  I  hold  you, 
Fold  you  at  last,  and  in  the  midst  of  my 

pride, 
Say,  "  It  is  she  who  is  with  me 

Here,  close,  close  at  my  side  !  " 
Love,  it  is  something  to  know  when  one's 

hour 
Is  glorified! 

kO  know,  and  to  speak  of  the  glory!     To 

shout  it 

Under  the  blue  of  high  heaven,  and  say, 
"  This  is  our  moment,  this  is  a  love  that  is 

perfect  ; 

At  last,  at  last  we  have  found  the  way  ! 
Would   we    could   show   it   to    those   still 

blinded.  .  .  . 
Love,  let  us  pray  !  " 


[85] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


i 


ONE  OF  THE  PREDESTINED 

READ  it  in  your  face 

That  you  will  leave  us,  young; 
You  will  go  from  this  place 

Before  your  song  is  sung. 


H 


O 


OW  avidly  you  take 

Life's  cup,  and  drink  its  wine, 
Ere  it  shall  fall  and  break, 

Revealing  Death's  dark  sign. 

STRANGE  and  troubled  eyes, 
Within  those  depths  I  see 

Immortal  mysteries, 
Hints  of  Eternity. 


'OU  are  to  pass  so  soon, 

Fragile  as  a  bright  flower.  . 

How  sweet  to  be  the  moon, 
If  only  for  an  hour! 

[86] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


T 


T 


TAKE  THOU  THE  ROSE 

AKE  thou  the  rose  with  all  its  beauty  red, 
Nor  strive  the  secret  of  its  flame  to  guess ; 

Pluck  not  one  petal,  lest  the  dream  be  fled, 
Vanished  the  loveliness. 

AKE  the  one  Love  with  all  its  rapture ;  yea, 
With  all  its  ruin  and  sorrow.     Love  is 
sweet ; 

Seek  not  its  fault,  lest  on  some  awful  day 
Love  crumble  at  thy  feet. 


[87] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


i 


RETREAT 

(For  F.  Walter  Taylor) 

KNOW  a  bookshop  in  a  quiet  street 
Close  to  the  flame  and  thunder  of  Broadway, 
A  little  heaven,  a  refuge  and  retreat 

From  the  loud  murmur  of  the  staring  day. 


T 


T 


HERE,  in  the  hush,  with  voices  of  the  past 
Singing    far     songs  —  Wordsworth    and 
Keats  and  Poe  — 

Often  I  linger,  dipping  in  the  last 
Bright  volume,  or  some  ancient  folio. 

HE  world  goes  by;  haply  is  lost  —  well  lost, 
But  old  worlds  rise  before  me   in  this 

place, 

And  in  some  shining  book,  by  Love  em 
bossed, 
I  read  the  record  of  a  nobler  race. 

[88] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

RETREAT  (continued) 

T  READ  of  pomp  and  chivalry  and  pride, 

Or  the  light  laughter  of  a  quiet  age ; 
I  dwell  in  moonlight  on  a  distant  tide, 
What  time  I  thumb  and  turn  some  yellow 
page. 


i 


i 


HEAR  the  rustle  of  imperial  lace, 
I    dream    of    glory    and    strong,    fighting 

men.  .  .  . 

The  lamps  expire,  and  in  the  chimney-place 
The  last  red  embers  burn,  go  out;  and  then 

FIND  myself  one  of  the  evening  crowd, 

Facing  the  world  that  thrills  me  as  before. 
But  O  that  moment  when  they  spoke  aloud  — 
Shakespeare  and  Dante  —  through  Death's 
hidden  door ! 


[89] 


TODAY     AND     TOMORROW 


THE  PRISON 

T  WENT  through  a  crowded  city  — 

A  city  within  my  own  — 
Whose  houses  were  of  iron 
And  terrible  grey  stone. 

T  SAW  each  awful  doorway 

With  clanging  lock  and  key, 
And  faces  white  behind  them, 
Most  pitiful  to  me. 


T 


T 


HERE  was  a  patient  silence 
Within  this  town  of  tears, 

That  told  me  more  than  lips  could 
Of  long,  bleak,  maddening  years. 

HAT  silence  —  and  those  faces ! 

They  haunt  me  all  the  while ; 
Yet  why  should  dead  men  whisper, 

And  why  should  dead  men  smile  ? 

[90] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


w 


/^\ 


RACING  WITH  THE  RAIN 

E  were  rushing  through  the  valley,  and  my 
friend  was  at  the  wheel ; 

The  highway  lay  before  us  like  a  rod  of 
burnished  steel. 

There  was  dust  upon  our  motor,  there  was 
dust  before  our  eyes, 

But  the  live  thing  sped  like  magic  under 
neath  the  Summer  skies. 

F  a  sudden  came  a  turning,  and  we  heard  a 

distant  drum. 
"  It  is  thunder !  "  cried  my  comrade.     "  And 

the  storm  will  quickly  come." 
At   his   words   I    looked   behind    us  —  yes, 

black  clouds  were  scurrying  on. 
"  Now    for    speed ! "    I    told    my    comrade. 

"  It's  five  miles  to  Avalon!  " 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


RACING  WITH  THE  RAIN  (continued) 

npHERE'S  a  flowing  road  to  Newbright  that 
•*•  is  like  a  silver  snake ; 

It's  the  kind  of  road  that  every  reckless  racer 

loves  to  take. 
Now  it  lay  white  in  the  distance  for  a  good 

three  miles  or  more, 

And  beside  it  was  a  deep  stretch  of  the 
curved  Atlantic  shore. 


N  my  hand  there  fell  a  raindrop  like  a  signal 

from  on  high; 
Black  and  blacker  sped  the  storm-clouds  in 

the  wide  tempestuous  sky. 
Close  behind  us  now  that  army  of  the  pur 

ple  hosts  of  rain, 
And  above  us,  marching,  marching,  with  a 

thundering  refrain. 


TUST  a  touch  upon  a  tiny  bit  of  metal,  and  we 

whirled 

Swifter  than  the  swiftest  eagle  flying  high 
above  the  world. 


[92] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

RACING  WITH  THE  RAIN  (continued) 

Swift  as  water  down  Niagara,  plunging  madly 

through  the  air, 
On,  and  on  we  raced;  the  lightning  flashed 

around  us  everywhere. 


R 


ANKS    of    blue    rain    surged    behind    us. 

Would  they  drench  us,  would  they  come 
Like  a  sudden  bright  battalion  filled  with 

war's  delirium? 
Would  their  gleaming  swords  surround  us, 

cleave  our  cheeks,  or  goad  us  on 
Faster,  faster,  on  that  flowing  road  that  led 

to  Avalon? 


N 


OW  the  earth  was  dark  around  us,  but  we 
had  no  need  of  lamps, 

For  the  lightning  blazed  before  us,  search 
lights  from  celestial  camps. 

Far  ahead  we  saw  the  roadway  like  a  shin 
ing,  endless  track, 

And  we  heard  that  army  breathing,  breath 
ing  closer  at  our  back. 

[93] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


RACING  WITH  THE  RAIN  (continued) 


w 


HO  would  mind  a  healthy  drenching? 
Surely  not  my  friend  and  I ! 

Let  the  torrents  pour  upon  us  —  we  could 
still  be  warm  and  dry ! 

But  the  race  was  for  the  glory  and  the  tri 
umph  we  would  feel 

If  we  beat  our  blue  pursuers  —  beat  them 
with  a  bit  of  steel! 


DRIDE  of  conquest,  zest  of  winning,  tang  of 

mad  achievement  —  these 
Were  the  laurel  we  would  gather,  and  the 

crown  that  we  would  seize! 
Naught  but  victory  did  we  dream  of,  effort 

wearing  her  bright  bays; 
Our  reward  the  joy  of  striving,  and  no  man's 

indulgent  praise ! 


;EE!  the  spires  of  home  before  us!     Ah!  the 

roofs  of  Avalon! 
But  the  jealous  rain  behind  us,  now  it  pressed 

more  madly  on! 

[94] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

RACING  WITH  THE  RAIN  (continued) 

Furious  at  our  seeming  triumph,  swift  it  sent 

its  first  brigades 
On  the  wind  to  touch  our  shoulders  with  their 

glowing  silver  blades. 


B 


UT  we  reached  the  village  court-house,  and 

our  haven  lay  ahead, 
Underneath  the  arching  elm-trees  that  were 

hospitably  spread 
Like  a  monstrous,  thick  umbrella  far  along 

the  avenue ; 
Dauntless  followed  those  battalions,  shining 

ranks  and  ranks  of  blue. 


OTILL  the  dust  was  on  our  motor,  still  the 
^        dust  before  us  lay, 

When,  out  from  the  drooping  elm-trees  we 

were  on  the  roofless  way. 
Ah!   the    open   door   before   us!     One   mad 

plunge,  our  glad  disdain  — 
Safe  at  last!     For  we  had  beaten  those  mad 
regiments  of  rain! 


[95] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 


T 


A 


THE  VICTORS 

HEY  have  triumphed  who  have  died; 
They  have  passed  the  porches  wide, 
Leading  from  the  House  of  Night 
To  the  splendid  lawns  of  light. 
They  have  gone  on  that  far  road 
Leading  to  their  new  abode, 
And  from  curtained  casements  we 
Watch  their  going  wistfully. 

H !  that  turn,  that  glimpse !     That  last 

Wondering  where  their  feet  have  passed ! 
They  have  read  new  meanings,  they 
Who  have  found  the  open  way. 
Now  they  know  that  hill  and  glen 
Far  beyond  our  mortal  ken, 
And  they  know  why  Winter  turns 
Into  April;  why  Youth  burns 
With  its  dreams  that  go  to  rust, 
Why  men  falter,  and  yet  trust ; 

[96] 


TODAY    AND    TOMORROW 

THE  VICTORS  (continued) 

Why  the  Autumn  grieves  and  sighs 
Underneath  the  brooding  skies ; 
Why  the  grass,  with  punctual  feet, 
Comes  in  Spring  our  eyes  to  greet, 
And  white  dawn  succeeds  white  dawn, 
And  the  moon  shines  on  and  on. 


T 


HEY  have  left  our  House  of  Night, 

Faring  to  the  bournes  of  light. 
Grieve  not  for  them ;  rather,  say, 
"  They  are  victors  on  the  way ; 
They  have  won,  for  they  have  read 
The  bright  secrets  of  the  dead ; 
And  they  gain  the  deep  unknown, 
Hearing  Life's  strange  undertone. 
In  the  race  across  the  days 
They  are  victors ;  theirs  the  praise, 
Theirs  the  glory  and  the  pride  — 
They  have  triumphed,  having  died !  " 

THE   END 


[97] 


•PSITY  OF 


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